Google’s Sundar Pichai Warns Companies Not to “Blindly Trust AI” – What It Means for the Gambling Industry

Pichai pointed out that people should use AI alongside other sources of information, not as a replacement for human oversight. The phrase he used was a “rich information ecosystem”, which means that companies should verify facts, cross-check data, and keep humans involved when making important decisions.

This is especially relevant to sectors where errors can cause real financial damage, including gambling (especially payments). For example, fraud detection tools sometimes misclassify players. Also, we’ve witnessed automatic KYC checks fail or flag the wrong accounts.

Many casinos now rely on chatbots to handle support queries, but these tools remain a major pain point for players. Most people still prefer real support agents, and chatbots often misinterpret questions, give generic answers, or create more confusion rather than resolving the issue. Pichai’s comments just confirm that casinos need to improve their chatbot systems and use them as a supplementary means of communication rather than treating them as a full replacement for live support.

Pichai emphasised that while these systems are improving fast, they’re not perfect, and companies that treat them as flawless could run into trouble.

Pichai also pointed to the financial risks surrounding the AI boom. He explained that if the global AI market enters a downturn or “correction”, the impact would be felt across every sector, and no company would be able to “fully protect itself” from the AI bubble burst.

This is relevant to the gambling industry because many operators are already deeply tied to AI systems. From customer service bots to CRM tools, player-risk scoring, withdrawal processing, transaction monitoring, game-recommendation engines, and even dynamic live betting odds all rely on the increasingly powerful (and expensive) AI infrastructure.

If the cost of this infrastructure rises or if investment slows, which is expected in the following years, operators that depend heavily on outsourced models or intensive tools could feel serious pressure. For smaller companies in particular, the higher computing costs or reduced access to advanced AI tools could limit growth and add costs.

The gambling industry has been one of the first to adopt AI, but a strong message from someone like Pinchai should serve as a reminder that these tools can’t run unchecked. Operators shouldn’t rely too heavily on AI, and they should still implement human oversight, especially in important areas where errors can directly affect players.

Tasks like KYC checks, fraud alerts, bonus approvals, and player-risk scoring can’t be left entirely to automated systems, because a single mistake can cause a payout delay, a wrongful account freeze, or banned accounts.

Customer support is another area that needs much closer attention. Many casinos now rely on chatbots to handle large portions of their support traffic, yet these tools remain one of the biggest frustrations for players. AI chatbots are rarely good enough to solve players’ problems and frequently provide generic responses or send players in circles.